Leonhard Kaupisch

Leonhard Kaupisch (1 September 1878-26 September 1945) was a General der Flieger of the German Wehrmacht during World War II. From 9 April to 1 June 1940, he served as the first commander of German troops in Denmark, preceding Erich Luedke.

Biography
Leonhard Kaupisch was born on 1 September 1878 in Bitterfeld, Saxony, German Empire. He entered the Imperial German Army in 1898 and served in the general staff, rising to the rank of Major in 1917. After World War I's end, he entered the Reichswehr armed forces of the Weimar Republic and served in the artillery, but he joined Nazi Germany's Luftwaffe air force in 1934. In December 1935, he became a General der Flieger, but he rejoined the army in early 1939. Kaupisch served as the military governor of Danzig and then as commander of the German occupation forces in Denmark, and he was stationed in Denmark until his 1942 retirement. In May 1945, he was captured by the Red Army when it took Weimar, and he was force-marched to a prison camp in scorching heat. He died a few weeks after his 67th birthday in September 1945, still in captivity.